Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an international health care and pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey and founded in 1886. It manufactures a variety of prescription medications and health care products as well as over-the-counter drugs, personal care products and food additives. Johnson & Johnson operates 250 companies in 60 countries. Brands and products include: OneTouch glucose testing, Acuvue contacts, Listerine, Aveeno, Neutrogena, Neosporin, RoC, Band-aid, Tylenol, Splenda, Carefree and Visine. It also sells prescription drugs and medical supplies including Cordis and Ethicon. Centocor and McNeil Laboratories are pharmaceutical subsidiaries of J&J.

In 2010, Johnson & Johnson had $62 billion in revenue, gross profit of $42.8 billion, and net income after taxes of $13.3 billion. Its CEO, William C. Weldon, earned $28.7 million in total compensation the same year.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Johnson & Johnson is on the corporate ("Private Enterprise") board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Don Bohn, Vice President for State Government Affairs, represents J&J on ALEC's corporate board as of 2011.

Jeff Buel, Director of State Government Affairs, represents J&J on the Executive Committee of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force. Other members of this executive committee have been representatives from Blue Cross & Blue Shield, American Physical Therapy Association, the Heartland Institute, Hoffman-LaRoche, and Bayer Healthcare. Buel is also a PhRMA representative.

Lobbying and Political Contributions
In 2010, Johnson & Johnson spent $6.7 million on lobbying. It lobbied on over 100 bills.

In 2010, the company's Political Action Committee spent $1.1 million on federal campaign contributions. House Democrats received $266,500 and House Republicans received $185,000. Senate Democrats received $67,000 and Senate Republicans received $36,000.

Prescription Drugs
The company manufactures drugs for conditions which include neurological, blood and autoimmune diseases as well as pain medications. Top sellers include Risperdal for schizophrenia and Remicade for psoriasis. The company's medical devices and diagnostics division manufactures surgical equipment, monitoring devices, orthopedic products and contact lenses, and other products. Its consumer division includes over-the-counter drugs and products for babies, skin and oral care as well as first aid and women's health products.

Its drugs include: AXERT® (almotriptan malate), INVEGA® (paliperidone), REMINYL® (galantamine) / RAZADYNE® (galantamine), TOPAMAX® (topiramate), CONCERTA® (methylphenidate), INVEGA® SUSTENNA™ (paliperidone palmitate), RISPERDAL® (risperidone), LEUSTATIN® (cladribine), DURAGESIC® (fentanyl transdermal system), NUCYNTA™ (tapentadol) immediate release tablets, RISPERDAL® CONSTA® (risperidone), ACIPHEX® (rabeprazole) / PARIET® (rabeprazole), REOPRO® (abciximab), NATRECOR® (nesiritide), REGRANEX® (becaplermin), SIMPONI™ (golimumab), STELARA™ (ustekinumab), REMICADE® (infliximab), DORIBAX® (doripenem for injection), PREZISTA™ (darunavir), INTELENCE™ (etravirine), LEVAQUIN® (levofloxacin), DOXIL® (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection), PROCRIT® (epoetin alfa), VELCADE® (bortezomib).

Animal testing
Johnson & Johnson does animal testing. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ([PETA]) conducted a shareholder campaign against J&J in 2004 calling on the company to "abandon five crude and cruel animal tests, replacing them with state-of-the-art and scientifically valid non-animal methods that are already in use in other countries." After the SEC rejected J&J's request to exclude PETA's shareholder statement from its proxy statement, PETA and the company established a dialogue that led PETA to voluntarily withdraw the shareholder resolution.

Facility information, progress reports & USDA-APHIS reports
For links to copies of a facility's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Animal Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) reports, other information and links, see also Stop Animal Experimentation NOW!: Facility Reports and Information. This site contains listings for all 50 states, links to biomedical research facilities in that state and PDF copies of government documents where facilities must report their animal usage. (Search: Skillman, New Jersey; Raritan, New Jersey.)

USDA AWA reports
As of May 26, 2009, the USDA began posting all inspection reports for animal breeders, dealers, exhibitors, handlers, research facilities and animal carriers by state. See also USDA Animal Welfare Inspection Reports.

Splenda
Splenda is the brand name for Sucralose, an artificial sweetener manufactured by J & J subsidiary, McNeil Laboratories. Splenda is derived from a chlorocarbon chemical which contains three atoms of chlorine per molecule (named sucralose by its manufacturer) and which is 600 times sweeter than a natural molecule of sugar. In 2000, a series of reports were published by Permagon press on the details of animal testing for Sucralose at Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). These experiments were reportedly carried out on dogs, monkeys, rabbits, rats and mice to test the effect on their nervous system. Reportedly, a total of 12,800 animals died at HLS during for this study. Sucralose remains widely available for consumption. Visit the Splenda: Sadistically Sweet Sourcewatch entry for more information. See also pdf copies of animal testing reports for various species conducted at HLS laboratories.

Tylenol Controversies
Though the company received bad publicity and had to spend millions of dollars in legal settlements, J&J was reluctant to have more explicit warnings on Tylenol's labels. This was in contrast to the company's response in the previous product tampering crises. However, in 1997, following the the FDA labeling rules, J&J made many changes in Tylenol's labels."
 * According to a case study from the IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), "Tylenol was the first acetaminophen-based analgesic to be sold as an OTC drug. The product was promoted aggressively and had become a leader within a few years. In 1982, it was found that Tylenol capsules were laced with Cyanide. This resulted in the death of many people. However, with the company's proactive and effective public relations program, Tylenol regained its market share within six months. J&J again faced problems when people died due to overdoses of Tylenol. This was mainly because the public as well as the medical practitioners were not well informed about the product's side-effects.


 * In 2010, Johnson & Johnson faced class-action lawsuits over recalled children's medications. Benadryl, Sudafed and Sinutab, Tylenol allergy, Cold and Sinus Cool Burst caplets, Tylenol arthritis pain geltabs, Tylenol 8-hour caplets, Benadryl allergy kapgels and caplets, Sudafed PE caplets and Sinutab Sinus caplets were all recalled. "In July 2010 five children's medication lawsuits were filed by six different consumers in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois. The lawsuits accused Johnson & Johnson of fraud and racketeering, saying that the company failed to recall the drugs properly and did not do enough to allow consumers to recover losses. A Food and Drug Administration report said its inspectors found thick dust and grime covering certain equipment, a hole in the ceiling and duct tape-covered pipes at the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, facility that made 40 products recalled."

Centocor documercial
In February 2007, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported that Johnson & Johnson's biopharmaceutical unit, Centocor had "developed a documentary film to serve as the centerpiece of a national campaign and an alternative to the 30-second spot." The film, called "Innerstate," follows "three patients living with chronic diseases like Crohn's disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis; ailments for which Centocor markets treatments. Centocor's drugs aren't mentioned in the movie, however."

Personnel

 * William C. Weldon - Chairman and CEO - $28.7 million compensation

(As noted previously, "Between base salary of $1.73 million, incentive pay of $9.19 million, plus stock awards and options and various miscellaneous perks, Johnson & Johnson's Bill Weldon raked in $25.1 million in compensation--almost $5 million more than in 2006. Other job perks added up to $179,231, including personal aircraft use ($118,653), and a car and driver and other personal transportation expenses ($29,753). Executive dining room meals, home security system monitoring fees, and financial planning totaled an additional $5,000.")
 * Dominic J. Caruso - CFO and Corporate Vice President of Finance - $5.6 million compensation
 * Ajit Shetty Ph.D. - Chief Quality Officer and Vice President of Worldwide Operations
 * Laverne H. Council - Chief Information Officer and Vice President
 * Michael J. F. Del Prado - Group Chairman
 * Russell C. Deyo - Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel - $8.9 million compensation
 * Joaquin Duato - Worldwide Chairman of Pharmaceuticals
 * Seth H. Z. Fischer - Group Chairman
 * Alex Gorsky - Worldwide Chairman of MEdical Devices and Diagnostics Group/Vice President of Executive Committee

Selected board members

 * Arnold G. Langbo - Retired Chairman of the Board & CEO, Kellogg Company
 * Leo F. Mullin, Retired Chairman & CEO, Delta Air Lines
 * Charles Prince, Chairman & CEO, Citigroup
 * Steven S. Reinemund, Retired Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo

Contact
Main Office One Johnson & Johnson Plaza New Brunswick, New Jersey 08933 (732) 524-0400

JNJ.COM P.O. Box 726 Langhorne, PA 19047-0726

WEBSITE

SourceWatch articles

 * Animal testing
 * Burson-Marsteller Offers Journalists Cash to Attend Drug Regulator's Hearing
 * Centocor
 * Crisis management
 * Huntingdon Life Sciences
 * National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
 * Pharmaceutical industry
 * Processed food industry
 * Splenda: Sadistically Sweet
 * Children Without Worms

External articles

 * Stephanie Saul, Drug Gets a Cameo in a Film Backed by Its Maker, New York Times, February 21, 2007.
 * "Centocor Uses Documentary for PR," O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), February 15, 2007.
 * Gardiner Harris and Eric Koli, "Lucrative Drug, Danger Signals and the F.D.A.", New York Times, June 10, 2005.
 * Marian Burros, "Splenda's 'Sugar' Claim Unites Odd Couple of Nutrition Wars", New York Times, February 15, 2005.
 * J&J Statement on Product Safety and Laboratory Research Lab Testing., J&J, accessed July 9, 2011

External resources

 * Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, Holistic Healing Web Page, accessed December 2009